The NFL goes international: The Miami Dolphins and New York Giants square off in Wembley Stadium in London, England this Sunday

Well, the Milton Pigskin Prognosticator has left me high and dry for the next two weeks as he’s off vacationing with his family at Disney World in sunny Florida (the nerve). This means you the readers are left with my questionable NFL Week 8 picks based on my knowledge (or lack thereof) of the NFL landscape…

It goes without saying that I really don’t follow football THAT closely. I know the standings and the major happenings around the league, but don’t expect any head-to-head comparisons from years past, key injury updates or offensive/defensive team rankings.

For the next two weeks, the NFL picks against the spread on MiltonSearch.com will quite simply be my best guesses.

Just being honest.

Before we get to this week’s matchups, I’ve been saving up some thoughts on a few other topics from around the world of sports…

Hockey Horror Picture Show

Maple Leaf Borje Salming needed about 250 stitches after a skate blade cut his face during a 1986 game in Detroit

I couldn’t resist. Just in time for Halloween comes this article from the Star’s Paul Hunter lists the top 10 most horrifying, calamitous (and non-fatal) NHL incidents ever to be seared into the memory of hockey fans.

To protest or not to protest

I could go on and on at the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs both on and off the ice this year, but I think I’ll save that one for now. That’s worthy of a topic on it’s own and I touched on a few of my issues with John Ferguson Jr. in the offseason. Here’s a fun article by Miltonian Mike Cluett on his disappointment with this year’s Leafs. I agree Mike. I’ve weaned myself off of the Leafs slowly since the lockout. The lockout which brought radical change to the NHL from which they’ve pretty much been the slowest team to react and adjust to – and it shows in the standings and in their quality of play nightly. I’m right there with you Mike – yeah, I still tune in every Saturday night, but it’s getting tougher and tougher to stay interested. Vancouver though? The Canucks?? They’re winning because they didn’t mess around when it came to acquiring a goaltender, but I’ll stay up late and watch their games once they pick up another bona fide scorer or two. I guess Vancouver’s not that bad. You could have said Red Wings, Flyers or Habs….

A Super Bowl in London?

The Dolphins and Giants take the field at Wembley Stadium in London this Sunday as the NFL continues to go international. Foreward-thinking commish Roger Goodell has mandated that all NFL teams play 1 game every two years outside of the good ‘ol U S of A and I think it’s a good thing. There were even mentions of eventually playing a Super Bowl outside of the U.S. which could be interesting…

I enjoyed my time perusing various forums and blogs over the past couple of weeks to see how John Q. NFL fan feels about all of this – as expected, Americans were less than thrilled with this proposition. Most of the comments were along the lines of “it’s our game, no Super Bowl should ever be played outside of the USA” and “keep the Super Bowl where real NFL fans are/can watch it.”

Pretty humourous stuff. Get over yourselves, Yanks. The NFL is the last North American league to not fully tap into international markets. Who can blame Goodell? The NFL isn’t just popular inside the U.S., and playing regular season games in other countries is a no-brainer. Every other league is doing it, trying to think out-of-the-box and increase revenues. Why not let fans here in Canada or Europe get a taste of some real NFL action? As far as a Super Bowl goes, again, why not?

The reaction was hilarous – like Americans wouldn’t watch the game if it was overseas or something… Are you kidding? It’s traditionally one of the most globally watched events already. Even when it’s held in America, only 70-80,000 people are there watching live. It’s the one game where the location really doesn’t matter. London, Berlin, Paris, Guam, Paducah, Kentucky…. The stadium will be packed and millions will watch worldwide. End of story.

It’s not like many fans of the two teams travel to the game either – Super Bowl spectators aren’t there to watch the game and cheer for either team. It’s a corporate schmooze-fest. Everyone is there just to say they were there, so again, the actual location of the game is really a non-issue. The NFL even currently has a two-week layoff between the AFC/NFC Championship games and the Super Bowl which is ridiculous and excessive, but would justified if you were to play the game in Europe.

In short, a Super Bowl in London would be a great idea. It would be a huge success and it would have absolutely no negative effect on the teams or fans. It’s going to happen at some point, so a message to those of you below the 49th: you had better get used to the idea.

The Toronto Bills?

Continuing along the lines of the previous topic, was the announcement this past week that the Buffalo Bills would like to play one regular season game and a pre-season game every other year in Toronto in an attempt to increase revenues by extending themselves more substantially into the Southern Ontario market.

Where this could really pay off is if the Bills could tap into the Toronto business community to help fill up their corporate boxes. Accessing Toronto, North America’s 5th-largest market, should allow the Bills to compete a little more easily with some of the NFL’s big spenders in the short term, even if current season-ticket holders lose a home game a year.

Long term, things could get interesting… Much has been made about the Bills’ financial struggles of late. The NFL is beginning to price out some of America’s smaller but more passionate markets. It’s hard to imagine the Bills franchise thriving long term in Buffalo, whose population is declining, now the 50th-ranked TV market in the U.S., down from 33 a decade ago. Much has also been made about owner Ralph Wilson’s plans – he has openly said that upon his passing (he’s 89 years young), the team will be sold to the highest bidder. You can bet Misters Tanenbaum and Rogers will be among those bidders….

Again, my time spent on NFL chat rooms and forums this week was entertaining…. There were the usual comments about how Toronto wouldn’t be able to support an NFL team, so why bother – “they can’t even support baseball or basketball”, “all U.S. sports have failed in Canada – why give them football?”. If I had a nickel every time I read those two statements, well, I’d have a few extra nickels today… I love the whole attitude like Toronto is some backwater or something, and few Americans actually realize that the U.S. Greenback has now displaced the Canadian dollar as the new ‘Monopoly money’ of North America. The Jays hold their own in MLB attendance. Considering they’ve got a yearly lock on third place, their attendance is about where it should be. The Raptors rank easily among the top NBA teams in attendance and apparently had the highest % of season ticket renewals this offseason…. I guess Toronto hates U.S. sports though.

Memo to our neighbours to the south: Toronto will easily support an NFL franchise. Yes there are problems – the Rogers Centre is below NFL standards for capacity, so that stadium would be temporary if a franchise were to move to T.O. Then, there’s the whole CFL/Argos/TiCats issue (I still think the CFL could work though – in Southern Ontario there are CFL fans and NFL fans – two different groups – allso, the CFL would be the more affordable football option for those priced out by bloated NFL ticket prices). Toronto is bursting with corporate dollars, and there would be no shortage of people willing to fork over the big bucks it would take for season’s tickets. A Toronto franchise would be an absolute success, no doubt about it. Granted, the tailgate parties may pale in comparison to Buffalo’s, but hey, maybe Toronto police will relax public drinking laws a little (yeah, right).

The next question is: what’s in it for the NFL? The NFL is already huge in Canada so do they really NEED a Toronto franchise? Since U.S. TV ratings don’t include Canada, then will a Toronto franchise really improve the league? The NFL is so big that I don’t think fans only watch their regional team – NFL fans watch every game they can no matter who’s involved for the most part, so I don’t see U.S. ratings falling off during Toronto games as much as they would in other sports. Any negative TV ratings would be offset by a huge increase in revenues that a market like Toronto could produce as opposed to a Buffalo, Jacksonville or New Orleans. The other thing you hear from most Americans is that there are several U.S. cities more deserving than Toronto – such as LA. Los Angeles is obviously a huge market, but the NFL hasn’t been there for awhile and things seem to be hunky dory, so I just don’t see the need to have a team there. They also have stadium issues as well. Also, I think it’s Goodell’s goal to become the first NFL commissioner to go global. The first step is random regular season games outside the country, but I have a suspicion he’s also like to oversee the first international franchise.

I also read an interesting theory: that Buffalo’s Toronto ‘experiment’ is just that. If things go well in Toronto, then it’s Goodell’s plan to either move the Bills or have them sold to a Toronto group at some point (within 5 years), and Buffalo will be granted an expansion franchise which will start playing 5 years after that in a brand new stadium rather than the outdated Ralph Wilson Stadium à la the ‘new’ Cleveland Browns after the ‘old’ Browns became the Ravens. Who knows? Buffalo is a passionate NFL market and it would be a shame to see them lose the Bills – I can understand the NFL wanting to be in both Toronto and Buffalo. The fact that Buffalo is a declining market though makes me doubt that you’d see franchises in both cities.

We’ll wait and see I guess. My thought is this: I believe the NFL wants to come to Toronto, and I think it will happen in the next 5-10 years. I know the CFL will have something to say about it, so we’ll see how that plays out, but I think it’s only a matter of time. Will it be the Bills that move here, the Saints, the Jaguars or will Toronto be granted an expansion franchise? That is the question.

Until then, chill out Buffalo. One game a year at the Rogers Centre won’t kill you and for now, it’s going to make your team more viable in your city.

It must be good to be a Boston sports fan

Can we just crown the Pats as Super Bowl champs right now? It’s getting a little sickening watching them just toy with their opponents week after week. ‘Spygate’ was the worst thing to happen to the NFL this season – the Patriots already looked like the favourites to win it all, but now they’ve got a chip on their shoulder and have made it their mission to not just win, but obiliterate, annihilate and demoralize the opposition. The only thing left to see is their game vs. Indy coming up. We’ll know at that point whether or not they have any challengers this year.

The Red Sox also look poised to win it all, with a 3-0 lead *yawn* over the Rockies.

Something changed when the Sox won in 2004. They lost that ‘loveable loser’ thing they had going on (which the Cubs still have) and became as evil and hated as the Yankees. Okay, maybe not quite as hated as the Yankees, but it’s definitely 1 and 1a at this point. And just think Blue Jay fans – you get to have not one, but BOTH of them in your division…. You’ve been in third place for most of the past decade and don’t expect much different for the forseeable future.

It makes you wonder how the other leagues so easily adopted salary caps but MLB has never been close to having one. I know a high payroll doesn’t guarantee anything, but I think you’ve got to do something before this league begins to really crumble – there are too many teams that are nowhere close to competing for a playoff spot year-in, year-out and you wonder how much longer it will take for fans of those teams to just lose interest altogether. You know the large market owners are trumpeting this Rockies playoff run as a reason not to institute the cap and that anything can happen, regardless of payroll…. Oh, the irony.

Oh yeah, and then there’s undefeated Boston College, coming off an improbable comeback this week vs. Virginia Tech and the suddenly relevant Celtics ready to begin the season featuring the dynamic trio of Pierce, Allen and Garnett.

Enjoy it while it lasts, Beantown.

Ok, NFL Week 8:

(Home team in CAPS)

Browns (-3) over RAMS
The Browns have surprised me this year, but can they be trusted to win this game? This has all the makings of the Rams’ first win, but I’ll take Cleveland because they need to win a game like this to prove to people that they are decent and that they are getting better. Plus the Rams suck.

Lions (+5) over BEARS
Could the Lions go to 5-2? I hadn’t even considered that possibility. The Bears have to beat the Lions at home, right? I don’t know. When in doubt, take the points.

Jaguars (+3.5) over BUCS
The Bucs have injuries, and they’re struggling – and they’re FAVOURED by 3.5 vs. the 4-2 Jags?? Take the points.

Colts (-7) over PANTHERS
The spread seemed kinda low considering the offensive numbers the Colts have been putting up and then I read that the Panthers’ QB’s are David Carr and Vinny Testaverde? Next.

Bills (+3) over JETS
The Bills are fiesty and the Jets stink. We’ll find out this week if the Bills’ strong play of late is confined to Western New York or if they can bring it East to the Meadowlands.

Steelers (-3.5) over BENGALS
You gotta take the Steelers in this one. If the Steelers are going anywhere this year, they need to start making their move now and the Bengals seem disinterested to me.

VIKINGS (+1) over Eagles
I can’t figure out either of these two teams. When in doubt, take the points AND the Vikes are at home. Next.

Raiders (+7.5) over TITANS
I can’t believe I’m taking the Raiders, but after the Titans nearly blew that big lead vs. the Texans last week, I’m afraid 7.5 may be too many for them to cover.

49ERS (+2.5) over Saints
This game is this week’s official ‘game to avoid watching a single play’ game.

Giants (-9.5) over Dolphins (in London)
Quite the marquee matchup for the folks in jolly old England. What a way to promote the NFL product: the New York football Giants clobbering the pathetic Dolphins by 2+ touchdowns… Enjoy.

Redskins (+16) over PATRIOTS
Ladies and gentlemen, this week’s pinata: the Washington Redskins. It’s likely the Pats will put the beatdown on the ’skins and win by probably 18-21, but they’re not going 19-0 against the spread. That’s NOT happening, so dammit, I’m trying the Redskins!

Packers (+3) over BRONCOS
The only team the Broncos could host where their cold-weather home advantage means nothing. Ok, I guess there’s the altitude as well – I forgot about that. Hell, I’ll stick with the Pack.

CHARGERS (pick ‘em) over Texans
Best of luck with the recovery process to everyone in the San Diego area.

Survivor Pool

(Pick one team to win outright each week, trying to put together the longest streak of consecutive winning picks while not able to pick any given team more than once during the season.)

Okay, my streak ended two weeks ago, but I got it going again last week when the Redskins edged the Cardinals. This week I’ll go international and take the Giants to beat the Dolphins at Wembley. The Dolphins can’t beat the Giants, right? At least not unless they can use the big inflatable guy in that photo of Trafalgar Square above….

Now Milton, what do you think?

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